February 6, 2025

The Presidential Transition & The Environment

President-elect Donald Trump’s picks for leadership agency roles have revealed an unsettling pattern: Many nominees have limited experience or disqualifying track records.

By prioritizing loyalty above genuine qualifications, Trump is signaling disinterest in the mission of these institutions and an intention to weaken them along the lines of the Project 2025 blueprint.

Learn about key nominees in the Trump administration’s second term and the powers they will have, and how you can take action:

Environmental Protection Agency

EPA Administrator
Nation’s top administrator of environmental laws

Confirmed by Senate (56-42) on Jan. 29

A man speaks at a microphone while wearing a suit with a dark blue and black background.

Lee Zeldin

Former Congressman with a thin record on environmental issues

What is Zeldin’s environmental record? Based on his Congressional voting record, Zeldin received a meagre 14% approval rating from the League of Conservation Voters. Learn more.

During his four terms in Congress representing Long Island, N.Y., Lee Zeldin:

Voted to end Clean Air Act standards
Opposed the Inflation Reduction Act, the landmark climate investment law
Proposed repealing New York's ban on fracking for natural gas and approving new gas pipelines in 2022

Zeldin was a member of the bipartisan Climate Solutions Caucus and Conservative Climate Caucus, as well as the bipartisan PFAS Task Force.

See Zeldin's Congressional Scorecard from the League of Conservation Voters on each of his votes in Congress.

What does the EPA do, and how does it affect me? Authorized by Congress to craft and enforce environmental protections that safeguard our air and water from pollution. Learn more.

The EPA's publicly stated mission is “to ensure that all Americans are protected from significant risks to human health and the environment where they live, learn and work.”

Here is how the EPA affects you:

1. Through the Clean Air Act, the EPA crafts national air quality standards to control pollutants coming from industry and other sources that are harmful to people and the environment.

The more stringent the standards are, the cleaner the air we breathe.
To manage air pollution levels, the EPA is tasked with ensuring that states have plans in place to maintain or attain appropriate air quality.

2. Under the Clean Water Act, the EPA regulates discharges of pollutants into bodies of water and sets quality standards for surface waters.

The EPA ensures industries or other entities without a permit don’t release pollution into navigable waters. If polluters violate environmental rules, the EPA can levy fines or shut down projects.
As with air quality, the more stringent the water standard, the cleaner the water the country has.
The agency also ensures drinking water is safe, and protects and restores oceans, watersheds, and aquatic ecosystems.

3. The EPA is an investigative and research body that releases information on emissions, industry pollution, or chemicals to warn the public about risks.

In doing so, the EPA also updates previously issued information with the latest scientific research to make sure rules reflect current knowledge about environmental threats.
The EPA also conducts and supervises investigation and clean-up actions at sites where oil or other toxic chemicals have been released or could be released.

Although the EPA is not a Cabinet-level agency, the EPA Administrator traditionally sits alongside the 15 Secretaries in the president's cabinet.

How does Earthjustice’s work relate to the EPA? Earthjustice watchdogs the EPA: We filed numerous lawsuits against the first Trump administration’s EPA for failing to follow its own rules and rolling back protections for our air, water, and environment. Learn more.

Earthjustice also makes sure that protections safeguarding our air, water, and environment are revised when needed, or kept strong when challenged by industry.

New sources of pollution are constantly emerging and given the reality that climate change is worsening at an alarming rate, a bold EPA led by an environmentally responsible administrator is essential to keeping our air clean, our water clear, and our environment safe.

What is Earthjustice’s position on Zeldin’s nomination? “We need a steady, experienced hand at EPA to marshal federal resources to fight climate change and utilize the full power of the law to protect communities from toxic pollution,” said Earthjustice President Abigail Dillen. “Lee Zeldin is not that person.” Learn more.

Lee Zeldin has very little experience on environmental issues.

Trump’s pick signals that the administration aims to further his deregulatory agenda by weakening the agency’s power and putting industry interests above clean air, clean water, and public health.

We need robust environmental protections to hold violators accountable in court and to keep our air clean, our water clear, and our environment safe.

Read Earthjustice’s letter in opposition to Lee Zeldin’s confirmation as EPA Administrator.

Department of the Interior

Interior Secretary
Oversees management of substantial amount of public lands, wildlife, natural resource development

Confirmed by Senate (79-18) on Jan. 30

Doug Burgum

Governor of North Dakota with longstanding ties to fossil fuel companies

What is Burgum’s environmental record? Burgum has touted the advantages of domestic oil and gas production. Learn more.

In 2017, Burgum said that a goal of doubling oil production in North Dakota “may be too low."
Burgum also helped arrange a Mar-a-Lago meeting with wealthy oil and gas executives where Donald Trump offered to overturn dozens of environmental rules and regulations in exchange for $1 billion in campaign contributions.
Burgum has spoken out against the Inflation Reduction Act, Biden’s signature climate bill.
He also praised the Supreme Court for overturning the 40-year-old Chevron deference doctrine. That decision undermines the ability of expert federal agencies and Congress to act and instead transfers an inordinate amount of power to judges.

What does the Interior Department do, and how does it affect me? Primarily responsible for most federal lands and natural resources held in the public trust. Learn more.

Through a dozen agencies under its purview, the Interior Department administers national parks, wildlife refuges, historic landmarks, and offshore territories of the outer continental shelf.
The Interior Department also oversees resource development of the public lands it manages by industries such as mining, fossil fuel, and timber industries.

This broad set of responsibilities means that the Secretary of the Interior will strongly influence how the federal government protects our public lands from industries looking to drill, mine, and log for profit.

Here are some ways the Interior Department affects you:

1. Endangered species protection

If you’ve ever been electrified by the sight of a wolf in the wild or a bald eagle soaring overhead, consider the role the Interior Department plays in protecting wildlife.
The Interior Department, through the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, is tasked with ensuring the survival of thousands of endangered species, such as wolves and grizzly bears, and conserving their ecosystems.

2. Manages cherished public lands, waters, and national parks

The Interior Department, through the Bureau of Land Management and U.S. National Park Service, manages iconic national parks, national monuments, and other public lands for recreation, conservation, and historic preservation purposes.

3. Fracking and mining on public lands

Even if you live nowhere near oil or gas drilling operations on public lands, climate change impacts everyone. Through its Bureau of Land Management, the Interior Department regulates where and how industry may extract fossil fuels from public lands — including overseeing leases for surface mining or oil and gas drilling.
The oil and gas industry has more than 23 million acres of federal land under lease. These leases lock us into decades of dirty energy and climate-heating pollution: Roughly a quarter of the nation’s total climate emissions come from extracting, transporting, and burning fossil fuels on public land.

4. Offshore oil and gas drilling

Through its Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, the Interior Department manages how and when ocean waters surrounding U.S. coastlines are used for oil and gas drilling.
Offshore oil drilling can have a severe effect on coastal tourism, fishing, and wildlife — as exemplified during the Deepwater Horizon oil spill of 2010, which caused irreversible harm to the Gulf of Mexico.

5. Relationships with Tribal governments

Through the Bureau of Indian Affairs, Interior Department sets the tone for the federal government’s relationships with Native American Tribal governments.

How does Earthjustice’s work relate to the Interior Department? Earthjustice frequently works with Interior Department agencies to ensure the federal government fulfills its role as a steward of the country’s public lands and cultural heritage. Learn more.

What is Earthjustice’s position on Burgum’s nomination? “By picking Burgum, President-elect Trump is taking the first step toward unleashing a wave of oil and gas drilling on our public lands,” said Earthjustice President Abigail Dillen. Learn more.

“The Interior Secretary is entrusted with protecting our shared lands and waters, now and for future generations, but Governor Burgum is poised to prioritize reckless development above all else.

“We can’t double down on drilling and habitat loss in the face of runaway climate change and extinctions. We stand ready to go to court to protect our wildlands and waters from extractive industries and safeguard the interests of Tribal communities threatened by development they oppose.”

Read Earthjustice’s letter in opposition to Doug Burgum’s confirmation as Interior Secretary.

Office of Management & Budget

Director of OMB
Situated within the White House and oversees the federal budget, federal rulemaking, and the federal workforce

Confirmed by Senate (53-47) on Feb. 6

Russell Vought

Coauthor of Project 2025 and budget director from Trump’s first term

What is Vought’s environmental record? He is one of the chief architects of Project 2025, the policy agenda that aims to strip away our rights to clean air, clean water, and a healthy planet. Learn more.

In a private speech in 2023, Vought described his goal of defunding the EPA so it can no longer regulate the energy industry.
Vought drafted a section of Project 2025 that calls for radically undermining the National Environmental Policy Act, the bedrock law that ensures you have a voice in major projects impacting your community.
During his first stint as budget director, Vought pushed for a policy change known as “Schedule F” that would remove job protections for thousands of nonpartisan civil servants and leave them vulnerable to politically-based firing. (The Biden administration reversed this change before it went into effect.)

What does OMB do, and how does it affect me? Ensures all federal regulations from various agencies comply with the President’s budgeting goals. Learn more.

Each year, OMB prepares the multitrillion-dollar budget proposal that the president puts forward to Congress.

This includes the President’s proposed funding levels for each federal agency, including those that regulate the environment and health.
Funding and staffing levels impact the capacity of government to do everything from keeping toxic chemicals out of consumer products to ensuring our air is healthy and our water is safe to drink.

Congress ultimately decides on the budget. But the Trump administration will have sway with Republicans who control both chambers of Congress. And in its oversight capacity, OMB can influence the headcount of federal agencies. It also plays a role in setting federal workforce policy. That could include orchestrating mass layoffs, which Vought has said he will push for.

In addition, OMB oversees the federal regulatory process. Federal agencies make rules that give specific, concrete shape to important but general laws like the Clean Water Act and the Endangered Species Act. OMB reviews these rules and determines whether their benefits justify their costs.

How does Earthjustice’s work relate to OMB? OMB has the power to reshape the government agencies charged with protecting public health and the environment. Learn more.

Specifically, Vought plans to reinstate Schedule F, which would convert tens of thousands of civil service jobs to political employees.

Civil servants have significant job protections; political employees, however, are easily fireable.
The reclassified roles could include scientists with expertise in everything from climate to air pollution.

At Earthjustice, we look to federal agencies to make fair, fact-based decisions. This requires gathering scientific data, public comments, and findings of fact as the basis for decisions — and that takes skilled staff with enough job protection to follow the science.

Under the last Trump administration, we went to court to fight the illegal removal of independent science advisors from the EPA, and we won. We are prepared to stand up for science again.

What is Earthjustice’s position on Vought’s nomination? “Nominating Russell Vought as Director of OMB is further proof that the incoming administration is dead set on carrying out Project 2025, even though it is deeply unpopular and will strip away people’s rights,” said Earthjustice President Abigail Dillen. “But we know their roadmap, and we have ours.”Learn more.

Department of Energy

Energy Secretary
Responsible for managing U.S. nuclear infrastructure and carrying out national energy policy

Confirmed by Senate (59-38) on Feb. 3

A man wearing a white shirt and brown jacket speaks on a stage with a cactus.

Chris Wright

CEO of Colorado-based fracking company Liberty Energy. Has never worked in government or held public office

What is Wright’s environmental record? With a long history in the oil and gas industry, Wright is a vocal climate denier. Learn more.

What does the Energy Department do, and how does it affect me? Shapes the future of the nation’s energy system through research investments and energy efficiency standards. Learn more.

The Energy Department plays a pivotal role in subsidizing — or not — dirty fuels, and funds crucial clean energy research, development, and cutting-edge projects. It also handles the environmental cleanup of the national nuclear weapons complex.

Here’s how the Energy Department impacts you:

1. Advances a cleaner, more efficient energy system

Advances clean energy solutions to reduce our reliance on fossil fuels and cut climate-warming emissions.
As climate change brings more extreme weather events, such as hurricanes, flooding, and wildfires, the Energy Department is also responsible for making our energy system more resilient to these hazards.
Sets energy efficiency standards for homes, appliances, and other equipment, helping to reduce energy costs.

2. Funds crucial technological innovations in clean energy

Uses research and development programs, project financing, and workforce development to secure our leadership in clean energy and energy efficiency.
Makes early-stage investments and authorizes loan guarantees for potentially transformative clean energy technologies.
Funds and oversees the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, which is dedicated to research, development, commercialization, and deployment of technologies essential to a clean energy transition.

3. Manages nuclear waste

Manages the U.S. nuclear infrastructure and handles the safe disposal of nuclear waste to keep communities and the environment safe.

How does Earthjustice’s work relate to the Energy Department? Earthjustice holds the Energy Department accountable for enforcing their clean energy and energy efficiency policies and advocates against harmful fossil fuel infrastructure that harms communities. Learn more.

For example, we took the Energy Department to court for failing to meet deadlines for reviewing and updating more than two dozen energy efficiency standards as required by law, while also weakening existing standards and making future standards less effective.
We also fought back against efforts by the first Trump administration’s Energy Department to bail out coal executives and prop up aging and unprofitable coal plants.

Earthjustice’s legal work aims to cut carbon emissions and to accelerate the shift from dirty to clean energy.

We look to the Energy Department for crucial scientific and technological innovations in clean energy and energy efficiency so we can rapidly transition to a clean energy economy and cut carbon emissions.

What is Earthjustice’s position on Wright’s nomination? “Putting a fossil fuel executive and noted climate denier in charge of one of the federal agencies tasked with helping us meet our climate goals,” said Earthjustice President Abigail Dillen, “tells us exactly what we’re up against with this administration.” Learn more.

What can I do?

Your voice matters. We must hold our elected officials accountable day in and day out because the future of our health, lives, and planet depends on it.

As your legislators cast their votes in this new Congress, remind them that they’re voting on your behalf and for your values.

As the leading public interest environmental law organization, Earthjustice is deeply concerned about how these appointments will impact our work fighting climate change, protecting clean air and water, and preserving biodiversity.

With our 200-plus attorneys, Earthjustice is prepared to push back in court on illegal efforts to gut agencies that safeguard our planet and health. We will hold the administration and Congress accountable to our bedrock environmental laws.

Photo Credits: Lee Zeldin (Matt Rourke / AP). Doug Burgum (Chip Somodevilla / Getty Images). Chris Wright (Gage Skidmore / CC BY-SA 2.0). Russell Vought (Tom Williams / CQ-Roll Call, Inc., via Getty Images).

Policy and Legislation Team

Established in 1989, Earthjustice's Policy & Legislation team works with champions in Congress to craft legislation that supports and extends our legal gains.

The Presidential Transition & The Environment

Environmental Protection Agency

Department of the Interior

Office of Management & Budget

Department of Energy

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